


Her Promise

by yukiluvsjapan



Category: Free!
Genre: Drama, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fem, Hetero, Hurt/Comfort, Onesided! MakoHaru, Romance, Sickness, genderbent, prefecturals, rinharu - Freeform, season one
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-06
Updated: 2014-07-07
Packaged: 2018-02-07 19:24:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1910823
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yukiluvsjapan/pseuds/yukiluvsjapan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Haruka finally goes against Rin in the prefectural race, however, she's not in top shape. While sick, she continues on with the race because she made a promise to Rin.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Her Promise

**_Breathe in, breathe out._ **

The phrase repeated itself, racking Haruka’s mind, reminding her to breathe. Despite that each ragged intake of breath was consuming that much more of her already limited supply of energy.

**_You can’t back out now. You promised Rin._ **

The girl’s eyes fluttered closed in an attempt to clear the fuzzy world that was part of her clouded vision.

Moments treaded by, and her eyes slowly opened.

“Damn it….”The curse left her lips immediately. If anything, her vision was now far worse than it had been before.

**_I have to race… I can’t let this stop me!_ **

With the silent reminder, Haruka ran a clammy hand through her bangs, pulling the sticky tresses from her damp forehead.

“Haruka,”

The girl’s gaze ventured forward, making direct contact with Rin’s maroon eyes.

With every last once of raw power in her body, she straightened herself upward, into a proud stance. “I’m here as promised, Rin.” She said, working her body even harder to keep her voice from sounding strained.

Rin drew even closer, stopping his trek once he stood a meter in front of Haruka.

A scoff filled her ears, followed by his overly arrogant voice. “Of course, though, you should be thanking me. I had to keep my qualifying time low so that we could be in the same heat.” He smirked, flashing a glimpse of his pearly-shark teeth.

Haruka clenched her fists tightly at her side, glaring at boy with the fiercest look she could muster. “I would have still gone against you in the finals!”

The smirk on Rin’s face only grew at the response, stepping up to the girl where his face was centimeters from her ear. “There’s no guarantee, you would have made it that far.” He whispered, walking away.

 

A low growl erupted from Haruka’s throat. “I’m not going to lose against him.” She vowed, being a long trek towards the locker room. “Today, I will become free.”

 

~o~

 

Haruka stood atop of her block, glancing slightly over at Rin. Their gaze was locked, neither looking away, each daring the other to chicken out first.

The looks that the two were sharing were cut short, by an overwhelming sense of vertigo.

**_Everything’s spinning…._ **

Haruka shut her eyes tightly, ripping her gaze away from Rin’s and turning forward, the red-head smirking in victory, unaware of the battle that Haruka was undergoing.

“SET!”

The girl had to bite her bottom lip, as she knelt down her hands gripping the top of the block. Her chest was searing with pain, making it difficult to carry out the simple task of opening her eyes and looking forward.

“GO!”

In a single swift movement, Haruka sprung from the platform and out into the water.

Her chest was screaming in protest, begging her arms to cease their lapping against the water. Going at the speed of boat propellers, she had to will her arms to move faster to match the pace Rin was maintaining.

Each stroke she made was making it harder for her to breathe, each time she went to draw in a breath of air; she would take in three times the water instead.

Her pace was beginning to slow dramatically, her opponent, Rin, taking advantage of the moment to overtake the girl, leaving her behind him.

**_It’s only the first leg! COME ON!_ **

Haruka willed herself to move faster, glancing over to the side to see Rin smirking, at her heading off towards the opposite end of the pool to finish.

Deep within her body, a fire sprung. Enabling the girl’s speed to increase drastically, making her turn propel her forward a great distance.

Now, she was neck and neck with Rin. Each competing to overtake the other, merely meters from finishing the race.

Faintly, she could hear Makoto and the other’s start to call and chant her name from the stands, their words becoming warped.

**_Almost there….._ **

Haruka sped up to her body’s full potential, a sensation equivalent to a thousand knives piercing her lungs and chest, her arms feeling as though they were melting off of the bone.

**_FINSHED!_ **

The girl latched onto the edge of the pool, unable to support her body on her own. Her eyes glancing up at the score board, her heart sank.

**_Second……._ **

Haruka’s breaths were now leaving her body at a dangerously slow pace, and time was slowing everything down.

“Haruka,”

Just barely, she managed to look up.

“I win. This means that I’ll never swim with you again…. Never,”

Every ounce of pain that Haruka had endured throughout that entire day now seemed miniscule. The level of shock outweighed everything. Watching Rin’s retreating form out of her peripheral vision only made it worse.

“R-Rin….”The name left her throat in a barely audible whimper, the remainder of her words getting hitched in the back of her throat where they would never be heard.

 

~o~

 

Haruka was stumbling down the hallway, her vision swarming around her.  She could no longer differentiate what was above her, from what was below.

**_I’ve got to find Rin…._ **

She had to keep going and continually remind herself. She couldn’t stop, she had to see Rin. She refused to acknowledge it before, but she loved him… It wasn’t the fake sort either, she truly loved and cared for Rin.

Coughs began to rack her body, bringing her against the wall for support. Glancing down slightly, she was able to make a faint red color.

**_What?! Blood…?_ **

Haruka’s eyes were widening to the size of saucers.

**_I thought it was just a cold… What is it? Pneumonia, bronchitis?_ **

The overwhelming pain in her chest brought her thoughts to a halt.  Free hand now, clawing at the fabric covering her chest.

 

(Rin’s POV)

Rin had been walking from the locker rooms, when the sound of woman screaming filled his ear drums. Raising a curious eyebrow, he changed direction, and headed off towards the source.

**_What the hell could be going on?_ **

He questioned himself silently, continuing the trek down a corridor, right before making a left turn. Now, remarkably closer, he could faintly hear a voice.

“A-Are you alright?”

**_That’s the one who screamed_ **

Rin easily came to the conclusion and listened even harder for a reply.

“Y…Yeah… I…I’m alright…. J…Just go away.”

Rin’s curiosity was now at a peak. Taking in a deep breath, an iron-scent filled his nostrils.

**_Blood?_ **

The boy took off running, at a speed mimicking that of a shark rampaging on bloodlust.

Reaching the end of the hall, and rounding a corner, Rin was faced with a sight he could have never in his life possibly expected to come across.

Leaning against the wall, he saw Haruka, her long inky black hair covering her face. Bits of blood droplets scattered over the floor and over her swimsuit and arm.

 “Haruka?” Rin asked, not willing to believe what he was now seeing.

The girl’s head snapped up at the sound of his voice, glancing over in his direction.

Rin’s eyes widened at the sight of Haruka’s ghostly pale skin contrasting the blood dotting the corners of her lips.

Slowly, the girl attempted to push herself off of the wall to walk towards the boy, only to begin to fall forward.

At an amazing speed, Rin had managed to catch the girl, holding her against his chest.  Wrapping one arm around her waist to keep her from falling, he pressed the other to her forehead to find that it was incredibly warm.

“Oi! You’re burning up! Why’re you here?” Rin asked, his voice nearing a growl. “Why aren’t you at home? You shouldn’t have raced me! Why did you do it, Haruka?!” He continued, demanding the girl to answer him.

Haruka glanced up at Rin, “I promised you….”She muttered, passing out and losing consciousness in the boy’s arms.

Rin heaved a heavy sigh, leaning his head down and kissing the girl’s moist forehead. “I’ll have to find the others now, won’t I……”


	2. His Promise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Rin taking care of Haru at the moment, Makoto being the worrier he is decides he should go look for her. 
> 
> Haruka is still unconscious while Makoto encounters Rin and hell breaks loose between the two.

(Makoto’s POV)

Makoto sat atop of a bench, watching the race unfold before his eyes. Though she looked alright, he had a nagging feeling that something was wrong. First off, Haruka had lost. It was true that the same outcome had come from the race that had occurred earlier, but this time he could not shake the feeling that there was another reason.

Once the scores were shown, he watched how she clung onto the cement surrounding the pool.

How all of the life seemed to leave her eyes once Rin walked away.

How her face would contort in looks of pain each time something was said.

Makoto loved all of his friends dearly, but Haruka was always his friend as long as he could remember.  All of the memories that he and she both shared, consisted of their parents joking around about how they would end up married one day.  Those were his hopes, but with her love for Rin… he knew that it would not ever happen.

**_She hasn’t come back yet…._ **

The brunet had begun to run several scenarios through his mind, his worry growing with each passing minute.

**_She was one of the only girls that were able to qualify the fastest to get into a male dominated race. What if someone tried to get her?!_ **

**_She loves Rin… She could be crying somewhere and I can’t go back there and help her…. Where could she be?_ **

**_She must have collapsed somewhere!!! She was pale! What if she was sick and competed anyways?!_ **

Makoto sat with his hands over his chin near his mouth, fighting the overwhelming urge to chew on his nails and lip. He wanted absolutely nothing more than to only see a glimpse of her face for reassurance, but that was not going to happen.

“Mako-chan… Are you okay?”

Nagisa’s voice drew Makoto from his foreboding train of thoughts. The boy glanced over to the side looking down at the blond who began to speak.

“You always worry, what’s wrong now?”

He gave a small forced smile, rubbing the back of his neck. “Oh, it’s nothing Nagisa, I’m just a little worried about Haru.”

Nagisa frowned, pouting with his arms crossed. “You _always_ worry about Haru-chan though.  You never worry _this_ much!” He said, moving his arms around to add emphasis to some parts of the sentence. “If you’re so worried, why don’t you go look for her?”

Makoto’s face slowly grew pink, the color lightly dusted over his cheeks and nose. “I CAN’T DO THAT!” He nearly shouted, “The building is separated by gender! There’s no way that I could go over in the girl’s section!”

There was a devilish glint in Nagisa’s eyes; one that Makoto did not fail to catch that was followed by a Cheshire grin. “You’re not a chicken, are you Mako-chan? I mean you walk in on her in the ….pffffft” A hand was firmly placed over the smaller boy’s mouth before he could finish, muffling the last few words from being heard by the people around them.

“Nagisa! It’s not like that!!! You know that she always has a swimsuit on……”He muttered nearly inaudibly, “I could cause a problem….  We have already got in trouble at school twice for trespassing…. I don’t want to get a third strike that will make me look like a pervert….”

Rei cleared his throat from off to the side. “If I may, Makoto, as long as you do not walk into any of the rooms and are going down the hall, I wouldn’t think that you would make yourself out to be perverted.” He explained with hope to urge Makoto into going after to look for Haruka.

**_I hope that he’s right…_ **

With a nod, Makoto rose up from his spot and began to walk up the bleachers towards the building.

~o~

(Rin’s POV)

Rin held Haruka tightly in his arms, her head resting in the crook of his neck. His arms were locked around the girl protectively, one under her knees and the other around her back. He contemplated on where he should take her. One, it was obvious that she was not in the best of condition.  Her ghostly pale skin and the light pink around her lips from where blood was, more than proof enough.

**_I can’t bring myself to be angry with her…_ **

Despite his feelings, the anger that he had upon seeing her condition quickly dispersed once she was in his arms.

**_Though, her feelings and her friend’s will be another story._ **

Rin inwardly cringed at the thought of what Makoto would have to say. Having been her friend since before they were old enough to attend school, and having fallen in love with her.  Needless to say, he was in for it.

Heaving a sigh, Rin brought his mindset back to thinking of what he should do with the girl lying unconscious in his arms.

**_Take her to the infirmary… There’s bound to be one somewhere around here…_ **

**_There’s the hospital… but the infirmary would be faster…_ **

**_And I could always find Makoto and dump her on them. No… That would make things even worse._ **

In the end, Rin decided on taking Haruka to the infirmary, which was the most logical option that he could think of. To initiate his plan, he found a map on one of the walls of the corridor.  However, much to his displeasure, the infirmary was all the way on the opposite side of the building from where the two were.

~o~

(Makoto’s POV)

Makoto, after nearly losing his way at one point, found himself over where the girl’s locker rooms and showers were. With each step he took, he felt an overwhelming surge rage through his chest. This was brought on by the building up anxiety that he was enduring.

He had called out her name countless times during his entire trek, but received no response from the only person he cared to hear from.

**_What will I do if something happened to her? I promised her mother…_ **

**~o~**

_The ring of the doorbell rang throughout a household, with the audible shuffling of footsteps being heard rushing towards the door. There, was a woman. She had long inky black hair pulled over her shoulder into a braid, with eyes a shade of gray._

_“Oh, hello Makoto.” The woman said, her voice light and kind._

_“Good morning ma’am.” Makoto greeted, walking through the door once the woman moved to the side._

_“Haruka just finished her breakfast and is upstairs getting dressed. I’m cleaning at the moment, but I haven’t put the food away yet, would you like some before you go?” She asked_

_The boy shook his head, “No thank you, my mother was off from work today and made breakfast for me and my siblings before she would let me leave.” He explained._

_The woman smiled, “You know, Makoto, I haven’t really had a chance to tell you this, but I do appreciate you walking with Haruka to and from school every day.”_

_A blush began to form on his face, brushing over his cheeks and ears._

_“My husband and I haven’t had a chance to speak to Haruka about this, but we’re going to be moving awhile away because of work. You two will be in high school soon, so I would appreciate it if you could watch over Haruka. I’m going to give her the choice on whether to stay or come with us… but I have a feeling that she will want to stay.”_

_Makoto blinked, trying to register what his best friend’s mother had just said. “You will allow her to stay and live on her own as long as I look after her?” He asked, unsure of if he had heard the woman correctly._

_Receiving a nod in reply, he nodded quickly. “Of course I’ll look after her! I will keep coming over here every day and walk her to school and home! I will make sure that she is safe and doesn’t get hurt too!” He promised._

_The woman laughed softly at the eagerness in the boy’s voice. “I’m going to hold you to that promise, Makoto. You’re a really sweet and kind boy.”_

_The blush on Makoto’s face deepened his face turning into a light shade of scarlet._

_“I won’t break it!”_

**~o~**

**_What am I going to do if I can’t find her… or if something happened?_ **

Makoto ran a hand through his hair gripping onto the tips at the thought. It would be his entire fault. He broke his promise and then Haruka would suffer the consequences.

 

“Damn it all…. Where the hell is it?”

 

Makoto slowed his pace to a stop, hearing an oddly familiar voice reverberate down the hallway.

**_Is that Rin?!_ **

The brunet’s eyes widened, following after the voice.  A grand mixture of feelings swirled in his stomach. These emotions ranging from rage to hope. Anger at Rin for undoubtedly being the cause that Haruka was certainly upset; Hope, for him wanting Haruka to be with him and well…

(Rin’s POV)

Rin had been wandering around the building for nearly an hour or more, his trek yielding no results as to finding the infirmary. He had quit looking around at the maps on the walls for emergency evacuation a while ago and was now relying on his instinct.

Taking a right turn, he caught the sight of a person walking in his direction.

**_God damn it. Are you fucking kidding me?_ **

He suppressed his will to speak the profanities aloud and continued along his path, continually glancing down at the girl in his arms every now and then.

The stranger that stood in front of him soon brought his walking to a stop.

“Rin… That’s not Haruka is it?” Voiced Makoto with a gulp.

 “Yeah, why the hell did you let her come here? She shouldn’t be out of bed let alone doing competitive swimming.” Rin sharply, “She was coughing blood and collapsed.”

In seconds, Makoto was in front of Rin his fists clenched at his side and trembling. “I’m not the cause of this, Rin. Ever since you had challenged her to this she has done nothing but swim and train because she wanted to see you.” He said through gritted teeth, trying his hardest to stay calm.

Rin’s eyes widened. That was not what Haruka had told him earlier but it was bound to be the truth. It would explain her condition as it is now.  He had a feeling that she liked him, liked him a lot, but he always disregarded it. 

“Not only that… but I watched her during that entire race… you… whatever you said to her shattered her heart into pieces. I saw the life drain from her eyes because you are always…..”Makoto stopped himself from saying anything else, not allowing his anger to get the better of him.  “I will take Haruka to the infirmary and I don’t want you around her. You won every time the two of you raced… what more do you want, Rin?”

Rin stood still, allowing the other boy to take the girl from his arms. He meant every word, he had never once seen Makoto angry and now even though he must have been furious he was passive for Haruka’s sake.

Just like he knew Haruka loved him, he knew that Makoto loved the girl as well. Him, well, Rin knew what he felt towards Haruka, but he always dismissed it. He has more important things to worry about than love.

What was it about Haruka that had the two of them falling for her?

She was reckless… that was obvious.  She was also to an extent quite passive.

Those weren’t qualities that people often searched for in their soul mate, but here Rin was filled with envy towards Makoto for gaining her trust and not breaking it.

He liked her from the moment he met the girl. It might not have been in a romantic or sexual way, but what he did like was her personality and love for swimming and water; her idea of being free.

Rin watched Makoto carry Haruka away in the direction that he came from and placed a hand over his face. 

**_I fucked up… I don’t even know if I can make it right… it doesn’t matter if I tried to carry her to the infirmary or anything! I tore her apart and I’m expecting to be able to pick back up the pieces._ **

**_DAMN IT ALL!_ **

**_I will make it up to her….. I’ll find a way!_ **


End file.
